The decision in the long-running case came after a highercourt overturned a previous acquittal of the two glamorousdesigners, who have denied any wrongdoing.

"Everyone knows that we haven't done anything," Gabbana saidin a tweet on Friday.

Milan prosecutors allege the fashion duo had sold their D&Gand Dolce & Gabbana brands to a holding company they set up inLuxembourg in 2004 in order to avoid paying high taxes in Italy.The investigations started in 2007.

The designers had been cleared from accusations by aprevious court last year, to the joy of numerous fans whocheered the news on the Internet.

But prosecutors appealed against the decision and a highcourt overturned the ruling in November asking for a new judgeto decide whether to send the pair to trial for unpaid taxes.

A court filing seen by Reuters confirmed the decisionreported by the sources.

The case is poised to be one of the few tax disputesinvolving celebrities to go to court in Italy, whereout-of-court settlements are preferred in order to cut on longproceedings and avoid possibly harsher punishments.

In 2000, late tenor Luciano Pavarotti settled a four-yeardispute and paid more than $12 million in back taxes to Italy.

Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona owes some 38 millioneuros in unpaid taxes to Italian authorities, according to mediareports. He recently said he wanted to clear up his situation.

Former MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi agreed to pay$51 million to Italy's tax agency in 2008 after a lengthy probe.($1 = 0.8021 euros)